Falsely Accused
by Karabou95
Summary: While on a case where the locals are none too accepting of the BAU being there, Reid and Morgan run into some trouble as they are working on the case. Slash


"What do you think, Reid?" Hotch asked, startling Reid out of his daze as he stared at the geographic profile. "Reid?"

"Yes?" Reid asked, shaking his head. "Sorry?"

"What do you think about the unsub being law enforcement?" Hotch repeated.

"I think it's definitely a possibility, especially considering the time of all the attacks. They were all between 3:00 and 3:30, which is the shift change for the local law enforcement. I would say that has a very high possibility of the unsub being law enforcement," Reid said, rubbing his eyes. "The geographic profile also indicates that his comfort zone includes the police station."

"Are you sure?" Morgan asked, his brow furrowing.

"Yes. The arrogance of the killings also indicates that he is very violent, but shows remorse. I would think that to people in his life he would seem like a very mild-tempered man."

"Is this 'profile' even reliable?" the police chief, Nelson, asked skeptically.

"It's the best weapon we have against the unsub," Hotch said.

"So I could give you a person and you could tell me if they are the unsub or not?" Nelson asked.

"Not that specific, but we can narrow down the list of possible suspects using the profile."

"What about you, pretty boy?" Nelson sneered, and Reid looked up quickly.

"You can't call him that," Morgan said flatly, at the same time as Reid said "What about me?"

"What do you do? You cant possibly be qualified enough to do anything to help with the profile."

"_Doctor_ Reid is as well qualified as the rest of us, possibly even more qualified, to do this job," Hotch said, defending him.

"Alright, alright," Nelson said, backing out of the room holding his hands up in surrender.

"That was…weird," Morgan said, glancing at Reid. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah…fine," Reid mumbled. "I just have a headache."

"Don't take it to heart," Gideon told him. "There's always those guys who don't think our profiling is legit."

"I know. I've run into a lot of people like that," Reid sighed.

"Don't let it get to you, kid," Morgan said. "Come on, let's go back to the hotel." He wrapped his arm around Reid's shoulders, giving him a quick kiss before saying goodbye to Hotch and Gideon and heading out to the car.

"So what's really wrong?" Morgan asked, pushing Reid's hair away from his eyes.

Reid shrugged. "I don't know, nothing."

"Which one is it, pretty boy?"

"It's nothing…it's just - I keep getting this feeling that the locals are suspicious of me," Reid admitted quietly.

"Suspicious? Of you?"

"I don't know why, but I just can't shake the feeling."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Morgan said, not entirely convinced of what he was saying.

"Yeah, I guess," Reid said distractedly, pulling open the car door and hopping in.

"Don't let it bother you," Morgan said, pulling him in for another kiss. "Let's head back to the hotel."

"And sleep?"

"Or not," Morgan said, smirking at Reid. Realization shone in his eyes, and he blushed fiercely.

"I love how you still get embarrassed about stuff like this. It's so cute."

"Yeah that's me," Reid said bitterly. "Cute."

"Reid, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," he sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. This case is just getting to me."

"It's brutal, kid. You know that." A car swerved in front of theirs, and Morgan jerked the wheel, swearing as he almost hit another car in the process.

Traffic was heavy, and it took them twice the time it normally did to get to the hotel. Both of their nerves were short and Morgan's temper flared up every time someone cut him off.

Reid tentatively suggested a shorter route to the hotel, and Morgan promptly snapped at him.

"Not every idea you have is actually going to work! You don't know everything!" Morgan snapped.

Reid fell silent, turning away from Morgan and refusing to take his bait when he tried to get him to talk.

"Look, I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just been a really long day," Morgan said, stopping Reid before he could open the car door in the hotel parking lot.

Reid didn't say anything, just opened the door and climbed out into the parking lot, grabbing his bag and heading towards the hotel lobby without a backwards glance at Morgan.

Morgan sighed. "Crap, I messed this up bad," he muttered to himself, following the angry Reid into the hotel.

"Reid. REID!" he called when Reid got the keys to their room and headed to the elevator without even stopping to check whether Morgan was following him.

"What, Morgan? What?" he yelled, spinning around to face him, and Morgan was surprised to see tear tracks on his cheeks.

"Reid?" he asked gently, instinctively reaching up to wipe his tears away, but Reid slapped his hand down.

"No," he said, sniffling, and turning and running up the stairs.

Morgan easily over took him and pressed him against the wall, making it so he couldn't go anywhere. Reid's eyes flickered around, looking for a way out.

"Look, Reid, I'm sorry, okay! I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You've already said that," Reid said stiffly.

"And I mean it. I wouldn't be saying it unless I mean it. You're one in a million, no, make that one in 6.5 billion. There is no one else like you, and I wouldn't want you to be any different. You're you, and that's all that matters."

Reid glanced up, startled. Clearly that was not what he expected Morgan to say.

"Would it be possible for you to forgive me?" Morgan asked quietly.

Reid bit his lip and nodded, bowing his head so Morgan wouldn't see the couple of tears that fell from his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and Morgan gathered him into his arms.

"I kind of overreacted to that," Reid said softly. "I've got so much worse, I don't even know why that hurt so much."

"It wont happen again," Morgan promised. "Now let's go find our room so we can get settled in."

Reid nodded, taking a step up the stairs and immediately collapsing.

"Reid!" Morgan yelled, catching his lover before he could fall and hit his head. "What's wrong?"

"My knee…," Reid whimpered, his hand reaching down to feel for the spot where he had the bullet removed.

"I thought it was all healed, though. How could it hurt now?"

"It's been hurting lately, and-I think the running up stairs might have made it worse," he said, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain flooded through his leg. "Not your fault," he added, seeing the expression on Morgan's face.

"If I hadn't-"

"My choice to run, can you help me to the room?"

Morgan picked him up bridal style, being careful not to jostle his knee more than he had to.

He somehow managed to get the door open without dropping Reid or either of their bags, and gently set him on the bed, stretching his leg out before him. Reid's eyes were squeezed shut, his hand absently massaging his knee.

"How bad does it hurt?" Morgan asked softly.

"Pretty bad."

"Do you think you can walk?"

"I'm not sure, I might be able to if I just rest it tonight and try not to make it any worse. But I guess we'll see in the morning."

"You turning in?"

"Yeah," Reid said, wincing as he turned over and pulled the covers up.

"Do you want some ice for that?"

"Not good to sleep with ice, it increases the risk of leaving the ice on too long and giving yourself frostbite, so I'll just…," Reid trailed off as he fell asleep, and Morgan quietly turned off the lights, making sure to leave the bathroom door cracked open with the light on for Reid.

What seemed like only a couple minutes later, Morgan was quietly shaken awake.

"Morgan," Hotch whispered in his ear. "Wake up!" He bolted upright as he saw the large group gathered in their rooms, and he glanced at Hotch questioningly.

"What's going on?" he asked, and one of the men who he recognized as the police chief, Nelson, glared at him.

"Shh," he hissed.

"They think Reid is the unsub," Hotch sighed quietly.

"Reid? Hell no, he could never-how could they even-no, never," Morgan spluttered.

"That's what I told them too, but they're convinced. They think I'm just sticking up for him because he's on our team."

"Reid would never do something like this, he's an FBI agent for crying out loud! Do they even have evidence to arrest him?"

"Just our profile, but that's enough to keep him for 72 hours." Morgan jumped out of bed to go wake Reid, but Nelson held him back.

"We do it. He's a dangerous criminal, and this can't be taken lightly."

"Are you freaking insane?" Morgan hissed. Nelson just glared at him. His attention was drawn to Reid when he whimpered, tossing and turning in his bed.

"No…no, don't," he whimpered, and Morgan felt his heart break at his terrified tone. "No, don't, I don't want it! No please…please don't, I don't want it!"

Morgan started towards him, meaning to wake him up from the nightmare, but one of Nelson's men grabbed his arms and held him back.

"Let me go!" he hissed, trying to wrench his arms away from them. "Can't you see he's having a nightmare?"

"No…I'm not a liar," Reid whimpered, tears streaming down his face. "I'm not, I didn't do anything. No…please, please don't! I don't want it, I don't want it."

Morgan stared at his lover, feeling helpless as he was forced to just stand and watch him suffer through the nightmare.

"You can't just shake him awake from a nightmare!" Morgan protested. "You have to do it gently!"

"Let Agent Morgan wake up Dr. Reid," Hotch suggested, looking like he was barely able to restrain himself from running to help the younger agent.

"Protocol is protocol, and I can't have anyone interfering with this. It's on our grounds, and if you remember correctly, we never actually asked you to help."

"17 people have died and you were no closer to finding the killer than you were when the first murder happened," Hotch hissed.

"Morgan?" Reid mumbled sleepily. "What's going on?" Instantly, at least 10 guns were aimed at him, safeties released, and Reid's eyes widened fearfully.

"Reid, stay still and cooperate. They have nothing against you and nothing to hold you with," Hotch said calmly. Reid's eyes flickered to Morgan and the men holding him back, and he bit his lip nervously.

"Don't worry, Reid, it'll be alright," Morgan said, his voice shaking slightly.

"I wouldn't count on that," Nelson snorted. "This kid is as guilty as Jack the Ripper."

A couple of his men went up to Reid and pulled him up into sitting position, snapping the handcuffs onto his wrists.

"Get up," one of them ordered, and when Reid didn't move, he grabbed his shoulders and dragged him out of bed. He yelped as his knee was jostled and twisted out of their grasp, trying to get his knee supported. The men dropped him and he fell on the ground, hitting his head on the side of the table.

"Stop it! Can't you see you're hurting him?" Morgan yelled, shaking the men off him and starting towards Reid.

"Stay back or I'll shoot him," Nelson threatened.

"You wouldn't," Morgan said in disbelief.

"I can and I will. Stay away from him. He's just faking it anyways."

"He is not! He got shot in the knee a couple months ago and is still recovering it, and last night he was running up the stairs and it gave out on him!"

"See, he's got you wrapped around his finger too," Nelson hissed, getting in Morgan's face.

"I know Spencer Reid better than anybody else, except for maybe his mother, and I know he would never do this. And nobody can fake an injury that well."

"Morgan it's fine," Reid said weakly, trying to push himself up on his one good leg without straining his wrists with the cuffs.. "I can try to walk."

"Just watch, he'll be walking just fine as soon as he gets up," Nelson sneered.

Reid got himself standing, and tentatively put pressure on his bad leg, gasping as a wave of pain rolled through his leg.

"You need help, kid?" Morgan asked, reaching out to steady him.

"No, I got it." Reid took one step and yelped as he instantly collapsed to the ground. Morgan caught him and sat back down on the bed with him, holding him close to his body protectively.

"Still think he's faking it?" Morgan asked bitterly.

"I think he's a damn good actor and has got you all fooled."

"Oh, just give it up!" Morgan yelled. "What have you got against him?"

Nelson opened his mouth, but one of his men laid a hand on his shoulder. "Chief, it's not worth it. Just let it go. We'll bring him down to the station, just let the agent carry him. It's not big deal."

"Fine," Nelson reluctantly agreed. "You can carry him. But you go in front, and any funny business and we shoot."

"Okay," Morgan agreed, glancing over at Hotch for his nod of approval. He started over towards them, gently helping Morgan position Reid in his arms so he'd be in the least amount of pain possible.

Reid glanced up at Morgan's dark brown eyes that were staring at him in concern.

"I'm okay," he managed to say when Morgan looked down at him as he gasped in pain.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, keep…keep going."

Morgan gently carried Reid down the stairs with Hotch and the police force following, guns drawn.

They got in the police car with Hotch promising to call the rest of the team and meet them there, and Morgan carried Reid into the interrogation room, gently setting him down on the chair and supporting his knee with another chair.

"So what is this all about?" Morgan asked Nelson harshly.

"Well you should know. We caught the killer, thanks to your profile."

"Reid doesn't fit the profile!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Agent Reid, where were you three nights ago between five and seven?" Nelson asked, ignoring Morgan's protests.

"Um…I was with the team, working on the profile," Reid said, reaching out to grab a pen sitting on the table in front of him and starting to twist it around in his hands.

"Nervous habits; a sure sign he's guilty," Nelson sneered.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Reid protested, throwing the pen back on the table and resorting to twisting his hands in his lap.

Nelson shoved himself into Reid face, and Reid jumped back, his eyes widening at the intimidating expression on his face.

"Reid, don't listen to him," Morgan said quickly. "He has nothing on you; nothing to hold you with."

"Reid, don't listen to him," Nelson mocked in a baby voice. "Shut up, Derek."

"No, you shut up and listen," Hotch said, bursting into the room. He was quickly followed by Prentiss and Gideon; both of whom had concerned expressions on their faces. "You have nothing to hold him with, he has an alibi, and the only reason you arrested his is because you're jealous of his accomplishments. I had our technical analyst do a background check on you, and it turns out you went to high school with him. Does the name Jerry Piper ring a bell to you?"

Reid gasped and his eyes shot up to Nelson, who suddenly seemed a lot more intimidating. Jerry Piper had been one of the guys who had stripped him naked and tied him to the goal post when he was in high school. After everyone had left, he had come back and taunted Reid some more, stealing his clothes and any means of getting himself free.

Nelson sneered at Reid, who seemed to shrink back in his chair.

"Reid, what did he do to you?" Morgan asked softly, seeing the look on his lover's face. Reid just shook his head, unable to take his eyes off of Nelson. He knew it was irrational to be scared of him still, but he was still emotionally scared from what he had done with him, and wounds like that could be reopened very easily.

"Not so brave now that you know who I am, are you?" Nelson taunted, and Gideon stepped forward.

"That's enough," he said loudly, grabbing Nelson's arm and pulling him out of the room. "You're off the investigation."

"What-no! You can't do this!"

"No, but I can," Hotch said coldly. "And I agree with him. You're of the case."

As soon as he left the room, Reid let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and let Morgan pull him into his arms.

Morgan hugged him and pulled back, catching Reid's eye. Once he had, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead and smoothed back the hair that was falling in his eyes.

"During high school he tied me to a goalpost and stripped me naked in front of the entire school," Reid said softly, nervously looking up to meet Morgan's gaze.

Morgan sucked in a breath. "That son of a bitch," he hissed, looking like he wanted to storm out of the room and give Nelson a piece of his mind.

"Don't do anything!" Reid begged. "He made my life hell but I really don't want to relive it. I just want to get out of here."

"First hospital for that knee," Morgan said, lifting Reid up again. He bit back and moan and nodded.

"Can we take the back way out?" he asked nervously. "I don't really want to run into Nelson."

"Definitely," Morgan said, making a face. "I don't think I could restrain myself if we went by him."

"I took him off the case," Hotch said, walking back into the room with JJ behind him. "He wont be giving us any more trouble."

"Good," Reid said, smiling slightly.

"You okay, Spence?" JJ asked softly.

"Yeah, just a little shook up about seeing him. But I'm fine. I'll get over it."

"Come on, pretty boy. Let's go get that knee looked at," Morgan said, carrying Reid out the door to the car. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

"And if it's not?"

"It will be. I'll be with you the whole way," Morgan promised, pressing his lips to Reid's before gently setting him in the backseat and heading for the hospital.


End file.
